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Concert Aims To Lift Spirits

Concert Aims To Lift Spirits

PHOTO COURTESY OF BARBARA JOHNSON TUCKER Barbara Johnson Tucker of Houston will be among those performing for the 22nd annual Spirituals Concert at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Goddard United Methodist Church. The all-ages concert is free.

Concert Aims To Lift Spirits

PHOTO COURTESY OF HEDREICH NICHOLS Hedreich Nichols of Dallas will perform for the 22nd annual Spirituals Concert at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Goddard United Methodist Church.

International touring artists and area choirs will aim to lift the community’s spirit this weekend in Fort Smith.

Barbara Johnson Tucker and her choir, A Chosen Few, as well as Hedreich Nichols and members of local church choirs will perform for the 22nd annual Spirituals Concert. The free, all-ages event begins at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Goddard United Methodist Church, 1922 Dodson Ave.

Those attending will see and hear the essence of “African-American spirituals” and more, said George Mann, GUMC choirmaster and an organizer for the event.

“This year, we are having the Spiritual Concerts over two nights instead of the usual one night,” he said. “We’re having the Goddard Chancel Choir, plus guest artists who are all African-American.

“Barbara Johnson Tucker is from Houston, Texas, and has been a soloists all around the world,” Mann added. “Barbara is bringing her gospel choir, and we’ll also have Hedreich Nichols.”

Nichols, who is Tucker’s goddaughter, enjoyed a gospel music career for more than 20 years in Switzerland before relocating to Dallas, he said.

“What will be fun is, we’ll be doing our material, and the guest artists will be doing their material, and then we’ll do several things together,” Mann said. “It will be special.”

Each 90-minute concert will showcase the uniqueness of spirituals, he said.

“African-American spirituals are quite different than gospel,” Mann said. “Some of it is the worship-style you think of while seeing something like ‘The Preacher’s Wife,’ but a lot of composers — both black and white composers — have taken these spirituals and made new arrangements for them, giving them a new, modern spin.”

Mann said he, as a participant, has the perfect viewpoint during the concert each year.

“It’s really nice to see people when they are moved by the spirit,” he said. “We have a lot of people who say they are attending both evenings, because it can take two nights to build in spirit.”

Mann then paused for a few seconds.

“It’s really hard to put in words,” he said. “It’s such an exciting thing to be a part of, and many people tell us that this event helps them get through the rest of the year.”